DSLR BUYING GUIDE – JANUARY 2017

Juri Iaboni
DSLR BUYING GUIDE – JANUARY 2017. Juri Iaboni

Main brands of digital reflex cameras are:

- Canon
- Nikon
- Fujifilm
- Sony
- Olympus
- Panasonic
- Pentax
- Leica

Pretty much every brand produces cameras and lenses with comparable quality. It’s without any
doubt though that Canon and Nikon are at the top of the market for number of models of both
camera bodies and lenses. This obviously brings to a wider choice for the final user and also to a
more interesting used market.

It is quite straight forward that to buy our first camera we also need to buy at least one lens to use
it with.
But what is the right offer to pick avoiding to buy useless equipment that usually comes together
with non-sense bundles?

It is quite hard to figure this out when our knowledge is limited and especially when we don’t know
what we’ll do with our camera.

Camera bodies models are divided like this:

1 – Entry level models

Entry level models are those that usually figure the most on special offers on-line and in store flyers.
I consider entry level both those models that are the cheapest in the brand’s catalogue and also
those right above them that are present on catalogue just to make people waste money if they
cannot afford anything from the higher levels but feel ashamed to buy the cheapest camera on the
shelf. This said, if our budget is only between 500$ and 900$ for camera and lens together is better
to buy the cheapest camera and spend more money on a decent lens.

2 – Enthusiast models

Those models that have all the base characteristics but also others that Semi-Pro models have. For
example, a tougher body, a better weather sealing, wi-fi, finest set-ups in camera, elements that
become useful to improve our photography skills. These are a better fit for those users that want to
study photography and improve more easily and also want to keep the camera body for more time
in order to focus on putting together a good set of lenses that will be used potentially for all their
life. My personal advice is to start with these models spending a bit more for the body.
Budget for camera body and a decent lens here is between 1000$ and 1500$. But it could be tough
to find the right deal because these models are usually sold way above their real value. Best thing is
to buy older models that are still on catalogue and are being replaced by newer ones.

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3 – Semi-Pro models

There’s not much to say about these models. They have all characteristics that a camera should
have to last for a lifetime in the hands of a passionate user. It’s obvious that these cameras
shouldn’t be used with cheap lenses so the budget here for camera body and a good lens goes
between 1800$ and 3000$

4 – Professional Models

Even less to say about these. The maximum out there. Heavy and not practical to carry around.
Here the minimum for a body only is 3500$, reaching also 10000$.

So, if you want to spend below 900$ and still buy new equipment, get an entry level from either
Canon or Nikon (around 450$) and spend as much as you can on a good lens. Possibly a zoom in the
range between 17mm and 100mm and preferably with a diaphragm aperture as wide as possible.

If you can spend between 1000$ and 1500$ buy the best model you can afford from the Enthusiast
level and get with it the best lens you can get. A good thing here is to look for an older model still
on the new catalogue that is being replaced by a newer one. For the lens follow the same directives
as the entry level.

If you can spend 1800$ and above but you are not a professional, then buy a semi-pro camera with
the best lens you can get.

If you are a professional, you don’t need this guide.

Just remember that if you are starting with photography and want to learn how to shoot, there’s one
thing for my opinion that you should absolutely look for:

This little LCD screen present on the top of the body!

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DSLR BUYING GUIDE – JANUARY 2017. Juri Iaboni

It will become the most useful tool during your learning process and also the tool you’ll use the
most after becoming a skilled user. Since it starts to be present only on Enthusiast models, there it
is the explanation of why you should invest on the camera body at the beginning in order to keep it
for much longer.

One thing to remember is that often, Enthusiast models are sold in bundles with very cheap lenses.
Just don’t buy these kits because you’ll soon figure out that is just a waste of money and also very
hard to resell them.

The following is a short list of cameras+lenses present on Toronto market in January 2017.

Super Low budget:

- Nothing to advice because there are tons of special offers out there. None of them though
gives a quality high enough to be a real investment for a long term passionate
photographer. If you really want to go for one of these, you could look for Wi-Fi option to be
present. Not very important, from my advice, touchscreen and articulated screen.

Mid budget:

- If you find the body only, for less than 1000$, I would definitely go for a Canon 70D which
has just gone out of catalogue and there are still new ones for sale around.
- Another option with Canon is the T6S that is the lowest model to have the top LCD screen.

- With Nikon, the only affordable model is the D7100 that also has the top LCD screen and like
the 70D has just left Nikon catalogue but is possible to find new ones. Only thing is that
there is no Wi-Fi present. It is not a big deal and I wouldn’t worry too much.

For the lenses, the discussion becomes a bit harder since they could cost a lot, even more than the
camera body.

- Staying with Canon I would go for a EF-S 24-105mm f3.5-5.6

- For Nikon, I would buy an AF-S 18-140mm f3.5-5.6 or AF-S 24-85mm f3.5-4.5

- If you want to buy lenses from other brands but available for Nikon or Canon, you could get:

Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 or 17-70mm f2.8-4

Many other lenses could fit your needs and your budget but just remember to look for the lens with the
widest aperture you can afford.

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DSLR BUYING GUIDE – JANUARY 2017. Juri Iaboni

Some listings in Toronto:

1 - http://www.adencamera.com/Nikon-D7100-w-AFS-DX-18-140mm-f35-56G-ED-VR-P1419.aspx

2 - http://www.adencamera.com/Nikon-D7100-Digital-SLR-Body-P1273.aspx (BOUGHT WITH THIS LENS)

http://www.adencamera.com/Sigma-17-50mm-f28-EX-DC-OS-HSM-Nikon--P842.aspx?ItemId=130273

3 - http://www.downtowncamera.com/product/canon-eos-rebel-t6s-dslr-camera-with-18-135mm-lens/

4 - https://www.amazon.ca/Canon-Digital-Camera-18-55mm-
Lens/dp/B00DMS0KAC/ref=sr_1_1?rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1483916784&sr=8-
1&keywords=canon%2B70d&th=1 (NOT VERY GOOD LENS)

5 - http://www.adencamera.com/Canon-EOS-70D-w-EF-S-18-135mm-IS-STM-Kit--P1384.aspx

Buona Luce!

Juri Iaboni